Phil Blackwood spent about a year in Myanmar’s most notorious prison. He lost weight, he struggled, he rarely saw his family.
Then he got out in a surprise amnesty last week. He was supposed to be on his way home to New Zealand. The path home was allegedly through Australia.
Immigration officials there have reportedly denied Blackwood transit because of his conviction in Myanmar. He is believed to be still in Yangon awaiting other options.
“The Australians have blocked him from travelling through. Good God, he’s a political prisoner, it’s neverending,” his father, Brian, said in an interview with New Zealand media.
Australia is globally infamous for its stringent immigration system, so stringent that the government once focused its efforts on kicking out actor Johnny Depp’s dogs.
Last year Blackwood was found guilty, along with two Burmese colleagues, of insulting religion after he posted a photo of a psychedelic Buddha wearing headphones on the Facebook page of the bar he managed in Yangon.
They were sentenced to two and a half years in prison but Blackwood was freed in the amnesty on Friday that included dozens of political prisoners. The fate of his former colleagues remains unclear.
All through the trial the charges were widely criticized and thought to be influenced by Buddhist nationalists.
New Zealand’s 3News reported that he was due home today but has been held because of his legal record.
He will have to go home through Bangkok later in the week, the news agency reported. A spokesman told 3News that Australia’s immigration officials were aware of the matter.
Coconuts Yangon could not independently confirm the report. The immigration department there has denied the allegations concerning Blackwood.
Blackwood’s parents did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but his cousin Chris Blackwood sent this tweet.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this post said Blackwood had flown to Australia and was being blocked there. However, it is believed he is still in Yangon and that Australia’s immigration department blocked him from transiting before he was able to leave Myanmar. The post has been updated.
This post was updated again on January 27 to include a response from Australia’s immigration department.
